Sunday, February 05, 2023

FOOD NOT FUEL
US, Brazil to Join India’s Global Push to Boost Biofuels Demand



Rakesh Sharma
Sun, February 5, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- The US and Brazil, two of the world’s largest biofuels markets, are joining an India-led initiative that will aim to boost demand for the lower-emissions energy source.

Members of the International Biofuels Alliance will also campaign for nations to do more to use organic waste to produce the fuel, according to the office of India’s oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Further details will be outlined during the three-day India Energy Week forum opening Monday in Bengaluru.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to address the conference, has backed the use of alternative fuels and in 2021 brought forward a target to have blended gasoline include 20% ethanol by 2025. The strategy is intended to limit air pollution, trim India’s oil import bill and help tackle a domestic surplus of sugar — used in production of the fuel.

India last week earmarked 350 billion rupees ($4.3 billion) in its federal budget to bolster energy security and support efforts to achieve Modi’s goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2070.

India, France, UAE to work on climate change, biodiversity

ASHOK SHARMA
Sat, February 4, 2023

NEW DELHI (AP) — India, France and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday agreed on a trilateral initiative to undertake energy projects with a focus on solar and nuclear sources, fight climate change and protect biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

The countries will organize trilateral events in the framework of the Indian presidency of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, and the UAE’s hosting of COP28 climate negotiations this year, said a statement by India’s External Affairs Ministry.

The foreign ministers of the three countries through a phone call decided to adopt a roadmap for the implementation of the initiative. The call was a follow-up of their September meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

They will expand their cooperation through initiatives such as the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, led by the UAE, and the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership led by India and France. It was agreed that the three countries should focus on key issues such as single-use plastic pollution, desertification and food security in the context of the International Year of Millets, the statement said.

They agreed to explore the possibility of working with the Indian Ocean Rim Association to pursue projects on clean energy, the environment and biodiversity.

The association is a regional forum bringing together representatives of government, business and academia from South Africa, India, Mauritius, Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Tanzania and some other countries.

They will seek to ensure greater alignment of their respective economic, technological and social policies with the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate actions and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future, the statement said.

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